


P.A.C.K

by beaconhillstheory



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Implied Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Physical Abuse, M/M, Slave Derek, Teen Wolf AU, Trigger Warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-10 16:36:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2032119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beaconhillstheory/pseuds/beaconhillstheory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which werewolves and other supernatural creatures are an enslaved race. Stiles buys Derek from a slave family, but they both have very different ideas about Stiles intentions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Chapter 1)
> 
> Inspired by this post: sterek-stories.tumblr.com/post/91851660038/teen-wolf-au-in-a-world-in-which-werewolves-are
> 
> Trigger warning: implied sexual abuse, implied abuse

"Yeah, right. Can we cut the bullshit. I have been told every lie you could possibly think of," Derek said shuddering. "I have been told that I was free, only to be hunted down by the same master and thrown into a cage for three weeks, fed food full of wolfsbane, and been experimented on by one overly.... curious master. I will do whatever you want, but please, do not taunt me." 

"Christ--no! That's not what-- I'm not... I don't  _want_ anything from you. I'm Stiles by the way and we, er my group, we call ourselves P.A.C.K." 

"P.A.C.K?"

"People Against Creature Kidnapping. Originally we wanted to go with People Against Capturing Kanines, Isaac thought it would be "witty" or something, but it was obviously offensive and it's not just the wolves anymore, so..." 

"What do you mean not just the wolves?"

"Well, ah. Right, you probably don't get news or whatever. Uh humans, started finding other supernaturals. Um, banshees, other shape shifters, kitsunes, you name it. Probably got a lot of their info from other wolves."

"You mean through torture?" 

"Right. Yeah, sorry, this is my first "rescue mission." But you are safe, and free. All that I ask is that you let us help you. Clean you up, give you food, a new identity, and help you hide out. We have safe houses and ways of helping you all stay hidden. Speaking of cleaning up, why aren't you healing?" 

Derek's intense glare which seemed to be trying to set Stiles on fire, finally lowered to the floor. His shoulders hunched over more and he clung to the edge of the bed, knuckles turning white, while trying desperately to stay up right. 

"They give us daily injections of wolfsbane. It not only keeps us weak, but it slows the healing process down," he said closing his eyes and twisting his hands tightly into the bed sheets. "When _visitors_ come, they like us to be ready. Not all masters enjoy our healing abilities. When they torture us.... they like the marks to remain." 

Stiles couldn't move. He had heard horror stories from other wolves, but he was still shocked at what the slave dens did to them. Derek would probably kill Stiles if he had the strength and Stiles really couldn't blame him. Who knows how many people Derek had lost.... who knows how much of himself he had lost. 

Stiles didn't know how to comfort Derek so he just walked to the kitchen, grabbed a handful of water bottles and as many snacks as he could carry. 

"Unfortunately, we do not have a way to get the wolfsbane out of your system, we just have to wait it out. Lydia, our head of all things science, is working on it though, and believe me if anyone can find a solution, it will be Lydia." 

Stiles handed Derek a water bottle and piled everything else on the bed next to him. Derek just held the water and continued to stare at Stiles. 

"You need to hydrate and flush out your system if you ever want to get this wolfsbane out," Derek grunted in response. "What? Is it not to your standard? We might have some Fiji, but I'd have to check," Stiles said, crossing his arms. 

The glare returned full blast and Stiles was sure that Derek would rip his head off when he got his full strength back. 

"I...How do I know it's not full of wolfsbane?" 

"Jesus, I don't know. Poor some of it on your skin see if it burns? Can't you smell it?"

"Wolfsbane dulls our senses and hell no, I'm not burning myself. I JUST GOT OUT OF--" 

Just then the front door swung open with a loud bang and in walked a 6'1 man with curly, short dirty blond hair and clothes that looked like he just walked out of a GQ magazine. 

Derek launched himself off the bed, grabbing onto the bed frame for support. His eyes darted around for an exit, but there was none... trapped. Trapped, again he thought. 

"Sup, so how's the newbie?" said the man with blue eyes and a wide smile. 

"He would probably be better had you knocked. We've talk about this Isaac," Stiles sighed while side-eyeing Derek. "Please sit down, we don't want you passing out on us." Stiles grabbed the water bottle that Derek had dropped when jumping off the bed and threw it to Isaac. "Please drink this, he thinks there might be wolfsbane in it." 

Isaac unscrewed the cap and took a few big swigs before handing it back to Derek. "All water, no secret ingredient W." 

"You're a wolf?" Derek said in awe. 

"Bitten, not born," Isaac answered, flashing his golden beta eyes. "I'm Isaac. Now drink your water, eat your food, and do whatever else Stiles tells you. Believe me, he will get you where you want to be."

"Right, what is this some kind of initiation into your secret society? Let the newbie rescue the newbie? If one dies, no harm, no foul?" 

"What?" Isaac snorted. "Stiles is the head of operations. Might be his first rescue, but definitely not his first rodeo." 

Stiles rolled his eyes and turned towards Derek. "Eat, drink," Stiles commanded. "I'm going to get the med kit and stitch you up. Then Isaac is going to help you bathe, and then you are  _going_ to go to sleep. We have a long week ahead of us and we need to get this wolfsbane out of you." 

 ---

When Stiles returned with the med kit, Derek had already finished off one bottle of water, ate one protein bar, and was half way through a family size bag of fritos. 

"We will get you some real food once we are on the road. Rules are to keep perishables far away from the safe houses unless you are planning to stay more than a few days." Stiles explained as he sterilized the needle. "This might hurt a bit, stiches aren't fun for anyone." 

"I've had worse," Derek mumbled before returning his focus to the bag of fritos. 

Stiles had finished sewing three wounds and he was onto the last one when Derek whispered, "I'm afraid that I'm dreaming. I'm gonna wake up and find out that I passed out during _conditioning_." 

Stiles knew this term. Conditioning was a type of malicious training for the werewolves when they were in torture dens, also called dog houses, and a whole slew of other names meant to degrade and humiliate the wolves. Each den was different. Some would attach shock collars and leashes to the wolves and make then walk over glass, hot rocks, wolfsbane, other's would "teach them tricks." Isaac once told him that he thought he had finally "played dead" for the last time when he went unconscious during conditioning.... of course, his punishment for passing out was much worse. 

"Count your fingers," Stiles muttered. "You have extra fingers when you are asleep." 

"How does that help if I am asleep? You could just be telling me that while I am asleep and who knows maybe in sleep universe having twelve fingers is normal." 

Stiles shrugged and continued stitching the large gash on Derek's chest. Nevertheless, he saw Derek slowly tapping each finger on the bed, and letting out a deep sigh when he reached the last one. 

"Alright, time for a shower. Isaac, you're up." 

"Why Isaac?" Derek asked. 

Stiles turned around confused. "Well, normally it's a precaution thing. I don't have the super strength that Isaac has, and normally the wolves we save would like nothing more than to tear off the head of the nearest human. Head count... yup, that's me," Stiles said raising his hand. "I'll bring you some towels and set up your bed, while Isaac helps you." 

Isaac helped Derek off the bed and supported his body weight as they hobbled down the hall and into the bathroom. 

"Do you mind turning around while I take off my pants?" Derek requested. 

"Uh, right sure. Just let me know if you need help getting into the tub, we don't want you to--" 

A huge splash of water sounded from behind Isaac as waves came crashing out of the tub and onto the floor. 

"Or we could just do that." 

Derek let out a long moan and ducked his head under the water. "I don't remember the last time I was in a bath tub, let along one with hot water." 

"Just relax. You don't want to pop any stitches. I'll do everything and if you fall asleep I'll wake you up when it's time to get out." 

Isaac had obviously done this before. He was kind, gentle, yet sarcastic and obviously a bit of a smart ass in everyday life. He massaged shampoo and conditioner into Derek's hair and used a soft wash cloth to carefully remove all of the blood from Derek's skin. When Isaac was finally finished he opened the bathroom door where Stiles was waiting with a small stack of towels. Derek couldn't help but notice Stiles' eyes lingering on Derek in the tub before he closed the door and headed back down the hall. 

"All right, here's the tricky part. Put your hands around my neck and I'll do all the heavy lifting," Isaac insisted. 

\---

When they finally exited the bathroom, Stiles had the bed fully made and two blow up mattresses on either side of the room. Stiles couldn't help but notice Derek's body with every muscle perfectly defined or how his damp hair clung beautifully to his head. When Stiles looked at his face he saw Derek's eyes, tired, yet still intense and staring right back at him. Stiles quickly averted his gaze and threw a pillow onto a blow up mattress. 

"Here's a change of clothes for tonight and another pair for tomorrow morning. We will be leaving at 7a.m. so get a goodnight's rest, we'll stop for food first thing. The bed is yours, Isaac and I will take the blow up mattresses." 

Derek didn't know when he last slept in an actual bed. Master Davis who did nothing but torture him physically and emotionally, or Master Wagner who wanted Derek for more _recreational_ needs. 

All three of them crawled into bed and fell silent in the darkness of the room. Isaac was asleep almost immediately, his quite snores drowned out the silence and made Derek more comfortable. Stiles was fidgeting trying to get comfortable, but soon he heard the lanky boy's breath slow. 

Derek's mind would not settle down. He could not believe that he was free, he still thought that this was some awful joke about to turn terribly wrong at any second. He was excited and scared about the day's to come, but mainly he was hopeful that P.A.C.K might be able to help him find his sisters. Just as Derek was about to give up on sleep for the night, he heard a  _thud-thud .. thud-thud.. thud-thud_. 

He could not figure out where the sound was coming from until he was able to pin point the direction. _Thud-thud..thud-thud._ Stiles. More specifically, Stiles' chest. He could hear the boy's heartbeat, the only thing calm and non-spastic about the boy.  _Derek was getting his hearing back, the wolfsbane was wearing_   _off._

Turning over, Derek tried desperately to drown out his thoughts while listening to the quiet  _thud-thud_ of Stiles' heart until sleep finally took a hold of him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 2)
> 
> Inspired by this post: sterek-stories.tumblr.com/post/91851660038/teen-wolf-au-in-a-world-in-which-werewolves-are
> 
> Trigger warning: implied abuse

When Derek finally wakes up, he can feel every part of his body functioning, as it should. He is acutely aware of how hot his skin feels, he can hear his blood rushing through his veins, his heart pounding, and he can smell the other werewolf and human sleeping only a few feet away from him. 

He looks at a clock on the wall to his right. It reads 6:50.  _Ten minutes_ , Derek thinks to himself. With the wolfsbane out of his system, he could easily jump out of bed, run over to Stiles, and snap his neck. Isaac would surely wake up, but it’s what Derek  ** _should_**  do. He should have killed the human the second Stiles let down his guard. He should have killed him for his parents, for himself, for his family…. But this human wants to help him, wants to offer him safety, and freedom.

Derek glances at the clock again: 6:52. “ _Okay, I’ll wait to see what P.A.C.K has to offer. Best case scenario they help me find Laura and Cora, worst-case scenario they are lying and they end up trying to kill me. Yeah, what else is new?”_

Stiles, still asleep, rolls over now facing Derek. The boy is sprawled out across the mattress with one leg falling off the edge, and his arms stretched in positions that couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

Derek takes a deep breath smelling the boy. He stank of a mixture of curly fries, sweat, and .. uh.. gun powder? Honestly, that shouldn’t surprise him all that much considering Stiles was apparently “head of operations,” but Derek could not marry the image of the spastic boy sleeping with that of a gun-yielding criminal. Derek’s eyes glided over Stiles’ face looking for any confirmation that he was in fact a dangerous man, but instead Derek found himself counting the freckles that delicately laid on Stiles’ face, and neck .. and arms?! “ _Christ, this kid is made of freckles.”_

The alarm went off a few seconds later and a sleepy Stiles swung his arm around the mattress until he could reach his phone to turn it off. He slowly began opening one eye after the other, but they kept pulling back down obviously fighting for a few more minutes of sleep. Isaac, on the other hand, was already standing next to his mattress stretching. He turned towards Derek who was sitting cross-legged in the bed and nodded. “Mornin’,” he mumbled, “I’ll put on the coffee and start putting the bags in the car.”

Stiles muttered something unrecognizable that sounded like a mixture of “thank you and mmhhh coffee.” Derek couldn’t help but give a small smile.

A few minutes later the coffee beeped and Stiles jolted out of bed, half limped to the kitchen, and poured a cup of coffee. Derek stood up from the bed watching Stiles with a confused expression.

“Is he –?” Derek began, but Isaac held up his hand.

“Give him two minutes and you’ll wish he was still a zombie,” Isaac replied.

Derek turned around and headed towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror, Derek couldn’t believe the difference a bath and a good night’s sleep could do. His face was no longer haggard looking, the blood that had stained his skin was finally washed down the drain, and his wounds were already starting to heal with no poison in his system. The bruises on his knuckles were already healed and scars were beginning to fade. He smirked in the mirror finally recognizing the man that stood before him.  _“Now all I need is a good shave.”_

**-**

Once out of the bathroom Derek could see the visible change in Stiles’ demeanor. He was standing near the counter no longer slumped over, but with near perfect posture and his foot tapping erratically against the floor. When Derek walked over, Stiles gave him a once over and his eyes lit up like sparks.

He still hadn’t gotten over how attractive Derek was. Of course,  _all_ of the wolves were very attractive thanks to genetics that gave them flawless skin – _or near flawless._ He could see the stitches pulling together Derek’s wounds, although they were obviously beginning to heal, and Stiles immediately felt guilty for looking at the wolf.

Stiles coughed turning away from Derek in an attempt to hid his quickly reddening skin. “So, I’m just gonna go to the bathroom and then we can head out of here. I want to get on the road ASAP.”

\---

Once they were in the black Toyota Sequoia, with Stiles driving, Isaac in the back, and Derek as the passenger, it was time to find food. All three of the guys could feel their stomachs growling, especially the wolves… and lord only knows when Derek had his last full meal.

 “Alright there is a diner with a drive-thru up ahead, we can stop there to pick something up and then be on our way,” Stiles announced.

 “A drive-thru diner?” Derek asked, cocking one of his bushy eyebrows.

 “Yeah, Allison, our weapons expert, says it’s awesome. Great food, and fast service.”

 “And that, Derek, is Stiles’ way of saying that this is the only place that the three of us can get food within an 100 mile driving distance thanks to the new laws. ‘No werewolf or other supernatural being can eat in a restaurant’. Lovely right?” Isaac said wiggling his eyebrows at Derek, although his eyes were intense and his fists were clenched.

Stiles glanced in the rearview mirror at Isaac, a worried look on his face. Isaac had anger issues that stemmed from an abusive father who sold him as a slave once he found out his son was bitten. Isaac was one of the wolves that took the longest to learn control. Scott had spent months trying to get Isaac to channel his rage, or to find an anchor. But for Isaac, anger had become his anchor. Up until this past year, Isaac had no alpha until he finally accepted Scott as his own. Soon after, Scott became Isaac's true anchor to tie him back to his human self. However, right now, in a car with a newly rescued wolf, a human, and 600 miles of open road, there was no Scott to hold him steady. 

\---

When they made it to the diner with a big flashing neon sign that read, “Kat’s Kitchen,” there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot, some of which had to be employees. Stiles pulled around back and slammed on his breaks. “FUCK,” Stiles shouted.

“What the fuck, dude,” Isaac yelled from the backseat, while rubbing his forehead after slamming it into the back of the driver’s seat.

Stiles glared straight-ahead pointing at a large sign hanging over the entrance to the drive-thru. “Drive-thru closed for renovation. Seating inside. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Derek huffed out a long sigh. “Can we order to-go?”

Stiles picked up his phone and dialed the diner.

“Kat’s diner, this is Dana. How may I help you?” said a woman unenthusiastically on the other line.

“Uh, hi. I was wondering if you did to-go orders. We don’t really have time to stop and eat, but we noticed that your drive was closed.”

“Sorry, we only do order’s to-go after 12pm.”

Stiles put his hand to his forehead and gripped the steering wheel tightly with one hand. “Okay, thanks,” he said and hung up the phone. His knuckles were turning white, but he knew if he let go of the wheel he would have to hit something.

Derek was staring at Stiles, unsure of what to say.

"Do you think we could fool them?” Isaac asked. “We don’t look like slaves, we don’t have dog collars on, or any markings that would suggest we were owned by anyone. What if we just walked in, requested a table, sat the fuck down, and ate their food? What are they gonna call the cops? What’s the worst that happens?” Isaac suggested from the back.

 _"We die,”_ Derek thought.

“Okay, okay,” Stiles mumbled. “We are in the middle of nowhere. The next place we could eat is a Subway 100 miles away. We will be driving mostly on back roads, but we have to go through a few cities.. so like two hours. Can anyone wait that long?”

Derek’s stomach growled in response and he winced. “Yeah, totally, I’ve gone longer without food.”

Stiles immediately felt guilt for the wolf sitting next to him. He promised Derek some real food, and he was going to get some real food. He reached into the back for his long sleeve shirt and NY Mets hat. “Put these on, they will hide most of your gashes, and hopefully the hat hides the one on your face. No one mentions  _anything_  besides the weather, and other boring normal people things.”

Derek quickly pulled on the shirt and hat, suddenly full of energy at the thought of food. The shirt was a little too tight over his muscles, but it fit him well enough, and smelled like Stiles, which for some reason had become very calming.

They all jumped out of the car and headed towards the diner. None of the men said anything as they walked inside and took a seat at the nearest table. Stiles never liked sitting in booths, they were too hard to get his awkwardly long body into, and if Stiles had learned anything, it was to always have a way out during emergency situations.

A waitress came over with three menus. “And what can I get for y’all to drink,” the woman asked with a smile that said “I hate my job.” Stiles looked at the woman’s name tag: “Dana,” of course.

“Could we just have three waters?” Stiles said smiling at the waitress who was dressed in cut off shorts, a Kat’s diner shirt, and had curly red hair.

“Sure, you were the one that I talked to on the phone, right? Sorry the drive is close, we are doing some reno and it wont be open for a few more weeks. Most people don’t show up before 10, anyway. Are y’all headin’ somewhere?”

“Yep, just heading West to visit family,” Stiles replied even though they were heading in the exact opposite direction towards headquarters.

“Oh, I have some family in Arizona. Anywhere near there?”

“Uh—”

“No. Can I have an order of scrambled eggs, with bacon, hash browns, and some waffles?” Isaac interrupted, looking the girl straight in the eye, and flashing his most charming smile.

Stiles glared at him, although he had been losing his patience with Dana as well. The waitress looked at him with hard eyes at first, but once she saw his smile, she flipped her hair and said, “of course, darling, anything else?”

“I’ll have some bacon, French toast, and do you guys have any curly fries?” Stiles asked. Derek couldn’t hide his smile, so he covered his mouth with his hand and pretended to be focused on the menu.

“Not for breakfast, hun.”

“Then hash browns please,” Stiles grumbled, handing his menu over to Dana.

“And for you handsome?”

“Um…. Well I’ll uh,” Derek said; now actually focusing on the menu. This was his first real meal in over a year and he had no idea what he wanted. Stiles and Isaac looked over at him with concerned eyes, trying not to alert the waitress. “Um..” Derek was now biting his lip, but a smile quickly took over his face. “Can I have a side of bacon, a side of sausage, an egg sunny side up with some toast, a bowl of fruit, and some corn beef hash?”

“Absolutely,” said Dana taking the menus and sauntering off to the kitchen, no doubt trying to show off for Isaac.

“I was getting worried that we would have to order for you,” Stiles joked.

Derek smirked, “I was too for a second there, and then I remember exactly what I used to order when I went out to breakfast with my family every Saturday morning.” Stiles couldn’t help but smile at the boy sitting next to him who was wearing his Mets cap.

 _“Note to self, give Derek more of your clothes if you want to see more of his muscles. Yep, I’m going to hell.”_ Stiles thought.

 -

Service was fast as Allison had said and they all began devouring their food as soon as it arrived. Derek took a large bite out of his corn beef hash and moaned. Stiles and Isaac stopped briefly to watch Derek eat his first few bites of food, and then laughed to each other and kept eating.

Derek was amazed at how fast Stiles could shovel food into his mouth. He was sure once Stiles got down to his last bite that the boy would explode, but instead he reached over to Isaac’s plate and stole the corner off a waffle. Isaac batted him away and kept eating, taking pause only to grab a sip of water.

The waitress came over as Derek and Isaac finished up their food. “Mets fan huh? We are mostly Braves fans ourselves,” Dana said teasing, as she tried to steal the cap off of Derek’s head. However, Derek ducked and grabbed her by the wrist before she could touch the cap. She sucked in a deep breath and jumped backwards. Isaac was staring at both of them stunned and unsure of what to do next, Derek was glaring at the waitress.

“Ha, erm, he just doesn’t like being touched and you know, um, baseball rivalries and all that,” Stiles said, patting Derek’s shoulder and trying to communicate to him to calm down.

The waitress smiled awkwardly, turned around, and headed straight towards the kitchen. Stiles cocked his head towards Derek who was now looking at his lap as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. “What were you thinking?” Stiles whispered, trying to contain himself.

“I don’t know. I didn’t want her touching me, and I didn’t want her to see my stitches cause that would just bring up more questions. I’m sorry I just hate humans.. and I’m honestly surprised that I didn’t tear her arm off on accident.” Stiles looked at Derek with both hurt, and understanding in his eyes. Stiles would hate humans too if their roles were reversed.

The swinging door to the kitchen opened, and out popped Dana. She looked a little clammy, and didn’t say a word as she refreshed the three waters at the table. “Could we get our check when you get a second?” Stiles asked calmly. Dana nodded and walked away.

He couldn’t help but notice how the waitress’ hands shook when she pushed the kitchen door open, or how the cook was staring at them through the chef’s window. Stiles scanned the diner, but everyone including the girl at the bar had disappeared. Isaac gave him a questioning look, but ignored it as he continued to scan the restaurant. The radio had turned off and it had become eerily silent and uncomfortable in the room. Derek reached for his glass of water, but before he could take a sip, Stiles nudged him hard enough under the table to get his attention, but not enough to draw attention from the cook.

“I need you to very carefully and without notice smell your drink for wolfsbane. If you smell it, you need to give me the slightest of nods here. We’re being watched.”

Derek’s heart began to pound in his ears as his eyes began to scan the diner as well. Isaac was now looking at Derek across the table, and he could hear the wolf’s heart banging around in his own chest. Derek glanced over at Stiles as he tilted his glass, and pretended to take a sip. Inhaling through his nose he caught a hint of wolfsbane. His nostrils flares, but he used every ounce of his energy to gently sit the glass back on the table. Derek listened for Stiles’ heartbeat, but found that it was as calm, if not more, than when they first walked into the diner. Derek gave such a minuscule nod that no one would have noticed if they hadn’t been looking for it…… unfortunately, the cook had.

Before Stiles had time to think of a plan, he heard the cocking of a shotgun from the kitchen, and chaos ensued. Isaac took the corner of the table, and flipped it in the air towards the kitchen, it took the first shot, but they could hear the gun cocking again.

Stiles, already on his feet, grabbed Derek by the hand and hauled him towards the front exit. A shot rang out and the window directly behind Derek’s head exploded. Stiles dove over the hostess counter at the front of the store and Derek followed him right over.

Stiles peaked over the counter just as three people burst out of the kitchen door. The chef holding a shotgun, the woman with short brown hair from the bar held a riffle, and Dana a pistol. Isaac was holding a full-length table up as a shield and was trying to slowly inch his way towards the hostess counter.

“Okay, the goal is to get out to the car in one piece. Three people, all armed. They came out of the kitchen, there is most likely an exit in that direction; however, there were five cars in the parking lot when we pulled up, which means that there are at least two more employees in the back,” Stiles said after ducking back behind the counter. “There is a third exit down the hall past the bar that goes to the drive-thru entrance, and if necessary you can break a window to jump out, but they would probably shoot you by then.”

Stiles lifted up the back of his shirt and pulled out a handgun. “The chef is a bad shot, tried twice and missed both times. Dana has a shaky hand, she will probably miss, but the woman by the bar was playing darts while we ate and had perfect accuracy. I would not mess with that one.” 

Derek was staring at Stiles wide-eyed and slack jawed. “I get it now,” Derek said, breathing heavily. “Head of operations, I totally get it now.” Stiles smirked.

He heard a loud bang hitting directly above the counter and flew up before the shotgun could be reloaded. Stiles aimed, fired, and hit the chef first in the right arm and then in the leg. The heavy man with short blonde hair fell to the ground screaming. Stiles ducked back behind the counter before a shot whizzed right past his head hitting the register.

Isaac flung the table at Dana causing her to dive out of the way. The woman with brown hair inched closer to Isaac as he growled at her. “Have you ever seen a werewolf lady? Do you know what they can do at full strength?” Isaac roared.

“Sure have wolf boy, my first kill was when I was eleven-years-old. How old were you when you first killed?”

“Fuck,” Stiles said from behind the counter. Derek looked at him, his eyes full of rage, and veins beginning to pop out of his neck.

“A hunter,” Derek spat. He jumped up from behind the counter, and Stiles had to ram his entire weight into the wolf to get him to duck back down. Isaac, distracted by Derek, didn’t see the hunter come up from behind him.

“Arghh,” Isaac screamed as the hunter pushed a blade deep into Isaac’s shoulder.

“Come out, come out, puppies. Come and play,” she whistled.

Derek slammed against the counter, “shit, shit,” he cursed himself.

Stiles put a hand on Derek’s shoulder and motioned for them to stand up. When they where on their feet, Stiles could see the blade embedded in Isaac’s shoulder. Stiles’ eyes filled with rage and Derek clutched onto the counter, his fingernails beginning to dig into the wood as his wolf began making its way to the surface.

“How you doin Isaac?” Stiles shouted.

“Just peachy,” Isaac responded as the hunter pressed another knife to Isaac’s throat, the rifle now hanging over her shoulder.

“Do you boys know what a knife coated with wolfsbane will do to a wolf?” the hunter laugher.

Isaac eyed Stiles and gave a quick nod telling him to take the shot.

“First I’m going to give your boy here a little knick—”

Stiles raised the gun pointing it towards the hunter.

“Ohhh feisty,” she shrieked. “And then I’m going to come over there and slice you and your friend.”

Derek looked over at Stiles, focusing on his steady hand as his finger hovered over the trigger. The hunter was barely peaking out from behind Isaac. “Stiles, no. There’s no way you can make that shot.”

“ _Just a little more to the left,”_ Stiles thought.

“Yeah  _Stiles_ , there is  _no_ way you can make that shot, just put down the g—”

Before the hunter could finish her sentence she was sent sprawling onto the floor, a bullet sunk directly into her forehead. Derek hesitated for a millisecond amazed at Stiles’ accuracy. Isaac was already rushing towards them as Dana finally found her gun and stood back up. Stiles hopped over the counter, and trained his gun on her.

“Derek go with Isaac and get the car,” Stiles ordered.

“What? No, I’m—argh,” Derek shouted as his face began wolfing out.

“DEREK, go to the car NOW. I am right behind you.” Derek hesitated; his eyes becoming a vibrant glowing blue, but eventually followed Isaac into the parking lot.

“I am giving you one chance Dana, either you drop the gun on the ground, and walk into the kitchen, or I shoot you right here. Make the right choice here, turn around, walk to the kitchen, sit your ass down until you hear us leave, and then quit this job and find something you actually  _enjoy_ doing.”

Dana was shaking from head to toe. “The cops will ask me questions, they will want to know why I didn’t stop you,” she cried, tears flowing onto her cheeks.

“And you will say that it was three against one and you lost,” Stiles snapped. Dana nodded, placed her gun on the ground, and headed for the swinging doors. Stiles didn’t wait a second longer, he ran out the front door, hearing the crack of broken glass beneath his feet, and jumped into the back seat of the car next to Derek.

They skidded out of the parking lot, and were back on the highway before the cops showed up.

 “Isaac, you okay to drive?” Stiles asked, already checking out the wound on Isaac’s shoulder.

“Yeah, just deal with Derek, he’s losin’ it.”

Derek was breathing heavily, his nails and teeth fully transformed into a wolf, and his ears beginning to grow pointy.

“Derek I need you to listen to my voice, and calm down,” Stiles whispered as Derek’s nails dug into the upholstery on the back of the passengers seat.

“Trying, I’m trying” Derek spat through clenched teeth. “I haven’t gone full wolf in over six months. God, it’s clawing its way out Stiles, I can’t keep it together.”

This was common for newly rescued wolfs after not being able to fully change due to the wolfsbane in their system. Often when they got back to the compound, they would go down to one of the lock up rooms and have at it for hours. The rooms were always destroyed, but they all regained control soon after.

_Think Stiles, think._

“Isaac hand me my bag in the front seat,” Stiles yelled. Deaton, P.A.C.K’s emissary, had taught Stiles a few tricks for situations like these. Stiles pulled out a small metal disk with a relief of a triskele on it and handed it to Derek. Derek’s eyes immediately lit up in recognition of the object. “You know what this is then? How to use it?”

“Yeah, my mom taught us how to control our change with it when we were kids. A lot of packs have them now to teach new wolves control,” Derek huffed, his breath getting significantly faster as he tried to contain the wolf. “Ahhh, I’m burning up,” he quaked, pulling off the long sleeve shirt.

Derek’s body with glistening with sweat and Stiles suddenly wished that he wasn’t this close to the wolf. He wanted to reach out and comfort him, but he didn’t know if that would set the wolf off or help him control it.

“Okay, hold it against your chest, and recite whatever words your mother taught you,” Stiles was shaking now as well, nervous and concern for both the wolf and his own safety.

“Alpha, Beta, Omega,” Derek began. “Alpha, Beta, Omega.” He kept repeating the phrase over and over again for what seemed like 30 minutes. It was nice to have something familiar that he could relate to his family.

Stiles looked at Derek’s hands wrapped around the triskele, they were now completely human. He reached into his bag and grabbed a large water bottle, a cloth, and the med kit. As Derek kept chanting the three words, Stiles poured some alcohol over Isaac’s wound and began cleaning it up. “It wasn’t tipped with wolfsbane, it should heal soon. Want me to stitch it, or just bandage it?”

“Bandage, you know how much I hate needles,” Isaac replied, nervously staring in the rearview mirror at Derek. “How’s he doing?”

“Better, almost himself again.”

Once he bandaged Isaac’s shoulder, he took the cloth and poured some water onto it. Tentatively, he placed the cloth on the back of Derek’s neck. Derek sighed, and leaned forward so that his head was resting against the back of the passenger seat. Stiles took this as a good sign and continued rubbing the wet cloth along his neck, and back. When the cloth as no longer damp, he poured more water on it, and returned his attention to Derek.

Rotating in the seat to get a better angle, he was now directly facing the wolf. With one hand he rubbed the cloth down Derek’s back, and with the other he gently caressed the wolf’s neck.

Derek focused on his breathing and slowly lowered his hands from his chest, resting the triskele on his leg. He could hear Stiles' heart now pounding as he tried to cool Derek down. _"_ _I should be fighting him,”_ Derek thought, but instead he relaxed under Stiles’ hands and closed his eyes.

Stiles began rubbing his fingers through Derek’s hair, something his own mother used to do when he was sick. When Derek was no longer radiating heat and his breathing had returned to normal, Stiles put the cloth back in his bag, but stayed close to Derek.

“Thank you,” Derek whispered. Stiles gave a short nod. Derek twisted his head against the passenger seat so that he was looking at Stiles. “What was that back there? You went full Jason Bourne.”

“HA, Stiles showed you his skills, did he?” Isaac joked from the driver's seat.

Stiles slapped Isaac on his good shoulder. “It’s nothing, just good with guns.”

“And crossbows, knives, axes, bats, and bombs,” Isaac remarked.

“Parrish is the one that’s good with bombs,” Stiles said trying to hide a smile, although his face was turning a nice shade of red.

“But you were also unbelievably observant, more observant than I’ve seen most wolves,” Derek acknowledged.

“My dad is cop, he taught me everything I know.”

“A cop?” the man sitting next to him asked with a worried look in his eyes.

“Yeah, uh, he’s not just a cop anymore, although everyone at headquarters calls him Sheriff. He’s actually on our side. He was a cop before human’s started taking wolves as slaves, but when he found out that they were not as horrible as the world made them out to be, he wanted to quit his job. I told him about P.A.C.K, and we convinced him to stay in his department to get information,” Stiles explained. “It helps us out a lot. We know when a wolf is arrested and which den they are sending them to, we can get full lists of wolves in our area, and we know when cops are doing patrols.”

Derek nodded, unsure about having a cop “on their side,” even if it was Stiles’ father. In his entire time as a slave, he never once met a “good cop.”

Derek could feel exhaustion pulling at his mind, and he rubbed his hands over his face. He sat back up and scooted down in the seat trying to find a comfortable position. Although the back seat of the Sequoia was large, sleeping sitting up isn’t easy. Derek couldn’t fall asleep for more than a few seconds, before his head was bobbing over, causing him to jolt awake.

Stiles was having a conversation with Isaac about which back roads to take, while he was watching the poor wolf try to fall asleep. He had to bite his lip from laughing when Derek’s head bobbed over for the tenth time, waking the man up.

Stiles slowly rotated so that his back was corned between the door and his seat, then he stretched his legs out to the side, careful not to wake up Derek as the wolf tried in vain to fall back asleep. As soon as he saw Derek's breath slow, Stiles gently grabbed his shoulders and lowered Derek against himself. Derek’s head was now resting on Stiles' lap, and he could feel the wolf finally relaxing as sleep greeted him.

Stiles grabbed a sweatshirt from his bag and placed it against the window behind his head.

“Wake me up when you get tired and we’ll switch out,” Stiles whispered to Isaac, who answered with a nod.

Stiles wasn’t completely comfortable, but he didn’t want to wake the wolf. He adjusted his position only slightly, and began falling asleep when Isaac hit a bump in the road. Derek began to wake up, but Stiles, just patted his shoulder and began running his fingers through the man’s hair. The wolf muttered something incoherent, and quickly fell back asleep.

Stiles, with one hand on Derek’s arm, and the other still tangled in Derek’s hair, listened to the sound of the car racing down the highway, as he felt the wolf’s breath rise and fall against him. “ _We’re going home,_ ” was the last thought Stiles had before drifting into unconsciousness.

 

 

Note: Chapter 3 will take place at the their head quarters. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles, Derek, and Isaac finally reach the compound, but it doesn't go as smoothly as any of them want it to. 
> 
> (Long chapter: wanted to get a lot done as far as set up in this chapter, hope you all like it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post: sterek-stories.tumblr.com/post/91851660038/teen-wolf-au-in-a-world-in-which-werewolves-are
> 
> Trigger warnings: abuse

“Only 50 miles left guys!” Stiles shouted enthusiastically waking up Isaac who was asleep in the back seat of the Sequoia.

“Thank god,” Isaac grumbled, trying desperately to get comfortable, they had been driving for nearly nine straight hours and Isaac now had a full bladder accompanied by a desperate need to separate himself from Stiles for a few hours. Stiles has belted out every song on the two classic rock stations that he was been switching between, talked endlessly about the new supernatural laws, and depicted the entire plot of Star Wars episode one in immense detail to one Derek Hale, who at this point could skip the entire first movie and jump right into episode two without missing _anything_.

“So, when we get to headquarters we will assign you a companion… I know that sounds weird, but we didn’t want to call them guides or ‘buddies,’ this isn’t your first day of elementary school. We will introduce you to the main staff, show you your room and the facilities, and then take you over to the labs to get tested by Lydia,” Stiles explained to Derek who immediately stiffened at the idea of getting poked and prodded by a stranger. “Don’t worry, Lydia is the best and Isaac or I will be there the entire time to make sure everything goes alright.”

The idea of Stiles being there during the exam, made Derek relax a bit, he knew this boy wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

“I’m gonna call Scott, give him a heads up that we are on our way,” Stiles said, reaching for his phone. The line rung once before Scott picked up, “HEY BUDDY, YA MISS ME?” Stiles shouted into the phone causing Isaac to grimace in the backseat.

“Dude, I was starting to get worried,” Scott replied. 

“Yeah, didn’t want to worry you. We ran into a little trouble, but don’t worry no one was hurt, and we aren’t being followed,” Stiles answered with one hand on the steering wheel and the other rubbing his furrowing forehead.

Scott gave an exasperated sigh on the other end of the line, “Alright, I want a full debrief when you get back… which is in how many miles?”

“Less than 40, we will be there before you know it!”

Derek, who was listening to the entire conversation using his enhanced hearing, decided that he was both excited and nervous to meet the man that Stiles obviously thinks so highly of.

“By the way, how’s Roscoe doin? You told me that you’d take care of him while I was gone. You know how much attention he needs,” Stiles added.

_“Roscoe,”_ Derek thought, _“What the fuck is a Roscoe? Take care of him for him? Show him attention? Does Stiles have a boyfriend?”_

Derek didn’t know why, but all of a sudden he felt his face getting warm and his heart starting to beat a bit faster. He had to clench his fists to keep from hitting something.

Isaac could hear Derek’s heart picking up pace and placed a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You okay?” He whispered to Derek through the space between the passenger seat and the side of the car.

Derek nodded abruptly, “Yeah, just ready to stretch my legs is all.”

“Don’t worry,” Scott laughed on the other end of the phone, “your boy is waiting for you when you get here. I’m sure he’s dying for you to take him out.”

Derek’s pulse continued to rise, and he had to close his eyes to focus on his breathing.

“Alright, thanks. See you in a few,” he said before hanging up the phone.

Stiles, who had been side eyeing the wolf during his conversation, placed his hand on Derek’s knee, “Hey, you okay?” The furrow between Stiles’ eyebrow began deepening even more.

“Yeah,” Derek mumbled, taking a deep breath, “just need a little fresh air.” 

“Here,” Stiles acknowledged, opening the passenger window, and removing his hand from Derek’s leg. “We’re almost there, and then I swear to god, you will never have to ride in a car with me again.”

 “Amen,” Isaac chimed, placing his two palms together.

Derek smiled, looking out the window, “it wasn’t that bad.”

 

\---

“This is your headquarters?” Derek asked biting his bottom lip.

 In front of them stood a shabby, broken down warehouse that looked as though it had been abandoned for years. A sign barley holding onto the brick building read “The Compound." Every single window was shattered, and the giant doors on the front of the warehouse were open. The cement around the building was cracked and weeds were fighting their way towards the surface. 

_“This is it. You let them bring you to an abandoned warehouse, trick you into false hope, and now they are going to kill you. You stupid wolf,”_ Derek scolded.

Stiles pulled the Sequoia through the giant doors of the warehouse, which drowned the car into darkness. Inside, was just as empty as Derek expected.

“Please tell me that we are just ditching the car,” Derek questioned, his heart beginning to drum faster than a humming bird. 

Isaac laughed in the backseat, covering his mouth to muffle the sound. “Don’t worry, you’ll understand in a second.”

Stiles pulled up to a wall on the east side of the warehouse. The wall was discolored and made of cement. It was a normal, everyday wall, except for a reflector mirror that hung above where the car was currently parked. Stiles waved at the mirror, and turned off the engine.

_“Not only are they going to kill me, but they are fucking psycho as well. Just my luck,”_ Derek thought while slowly placing a hand over the seat belt buckle in case he had to make a quick escape out of the car. “Look, I don’t know what’s goi—”

Just then the ground under the car began to move and before Derek could register what was happening, the car began to sink into the concrete.

“Just hold still,” Stiles smiled, placing his hand on Derek’s shoulder, and unbuckling his own seat belt.

Soon the car was completely submerged in the concrete, and Derek could see metal walls moving upwards on either side of the car. Derek looked upwards through the windshield and could see the ceiling of the warehouse just before the concrete floor above them began to close. Once again the three men were doused in darkness, but only for a brief second before a bright light began opening up in front of them. Stiles drove through the bright opening and before Derek’s eyes could focus, they were in a large room, filled with cars. 

“How did you—what just happened?” Derek asked in awe.

Stiles flashed a cocky smile at the wolf, “High security protocols. The mirror in the warehouse is actually a camera hooked up to our control center, they then page us in, and the floor opens up using –”

“Oh for Christ’s sake, it’s a giant elevator that lowers our car into our underground garage,” Isaac grumbled, jumping out of the car. “It’s really not _that_ impressive.”

The giant garage was entirely white with bright lights that spanned the ceiling from wall to wall. The car sized elevator behind them began to rise back to the surface as Derek climbed out of the Sequoia.

"Let's go," stiles said, nodding to a large glass door across the room.

Derek walked across the sleek white floor, amazed at the size of the garage that held at least 20 different cars. "How did you guys afford this?"

"We have a lot of .. contributors, very wealthy contributors," Isaac explained. 

The thick glass doors in front of them opened automatically and they walked in. Another set of doors sat in front of them, this time with a black screen, camera, and key pad.

Stiles put his eye up to the camera which then scanned his retina. The black screen lit up, and he placed his hand up against it. Soon the black screen turned green, and Stiles input a key code. "Like I said, high security," Stiles smiled, taking a little too much pleasure in Derek's surprised expression.

As the doors opened, Derek could see a man with short black hair, brown eyes, and a puppy dog grin.

"Buddy!" The man shouted enthusiastically before wrapping his arms tightly around Stiles.

Stiles dropped the bag he was carrying and wrapped his arms around the grinning man, returning the hug. "Bro! I missed you!" Finally the two released from their embrace, but still had one arm slung over the others neck. "Derek, this is Scott. He is our leader, the head of P.A.C.K, and most importantly my best friend."

Scott let go of Stiles and stepped towards Derek. Derek could not believe that this man who was obviously younger than himself, was the ring leader, this guy looked like he wouldn't swat a fly.

Scott put out his hand for Derek to shake, and flashed his red eyes. "Welcome to P.A.C.K headquarters Derek," Scott smiled trying to hide a smirk at the astonished look on Derek's face.

"You're an alpha?" Derek asked.

"Yep, and a great one at that. Come on Scott, I want the 411 on everything that's been going on," Isaac chipped in, grabbing Scott and pulling his further down the hall.

"He's been with me in a small space for far too long," Stiles laughed. "You go, I'll show Derek everything."

Scott nodded, "Alright, I'll talk to you later Derek, and answer any questions you have. Nice to meet you, you've got the best guide in the compound."

Isaac and Scott entered a set of doors halfway down the hall and disappeared through them. Stiles and Derek were completely alone for the first time since he brought Derek to the safe house. Derek was frozen in place, studded at the thought of Stiles being best friends with a werewolf, let alone an alpha.

"Bitten or born?" Derek asked.

"Bitten. We were both in high school."

"How did he become an alpha?"

"I'll let him explain it to you sometime. Not my story to tell." Stiles didn't want to tell Derek that Scott was a true alpha, one that didn't need to kill another in order to become powerful.

"The boy who runs with wolves, huh?" Derek joked, nudging Stiles' arm.

Stiles smiled, he could get used to that.

\----

Inside the building looked pretty normal, although there were a lot of TV's plastering the walls and no windows considering they were underground. The TV's were playing various news stations, each one showing a different news story... Each one showing another massacre of a group of rebelling supernaturals.

Derek and Stiles stepped into another elevator at the end of the hall. "Top floor is the garage, then the dorms, and main floor, next are the labs, and the bottom floor is the recreation area." 

"Right and what's below that?" 

"Nothing, dirt?" Stiles laughed.

"Right, and where do you do all your planning? Super secret organization needs a super secret floor."

"No, really. We like to involve everyone in our decisions, get feedback... Transparency is how we have earned the trust of so many supernaturals. Everything, planning and otherwise, is done on the main floor."

The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out. A tall, muscular man with dark skin and dark hair snuck up behind Stiles and wrapped him in a tight hug that lifted him off of the ground.

"Arg, can't--breath--- Boyd. Too--tight," Stiles gasped. The man put him down, and stepped back a pace. "Missed you too bud," Stiles said, slapping the man in the arm. "Derek, this is Boyd. Boyd, this is Derek. He's gonna be your companion."

"Hey, nice to meet you Derek. I'm hoping Stiles and Isaac took care of you, or rather you weren't too hard on them," he said reaching out his hand, which Derek shook without hesitation. 

"What, cause you were such a peach when we brought you in?" Stiles remarked. "I seem to remember you breaking Isaac's collarbone and Alli having to come in to detain you."

Boyd shrugged. "Didn't know any better. Strangers rescue you and promise you your freedom, and you tend not to trust them."

"See Boyd is a big strong wolf who could tear you in two," Stiles said with his usual level of sarcasm, "but in reality he is a big teddy bear."

Boyd playfully shoved Stiles, "Alright, let's show him his room and bring him down to see Lydia."

The rooms were descent sizes, but very plain, a bed sat in the middle of the room with two bookshelves and a desk lining the wall. Boyd was in the room next to Derek, and they had adjoining doors.

After dropping off Derek's very _small_ bag of clothes, they went into yet another elevator and that took them down to Lydia’s labs. Derek could feel himself getting more nervous with each step they took. Stiles and Boyd were talking about plans and people that Derek didn’t understand so he kept his eyes glued to the floor and tried to control his breathing. When he raised his head, Stiles was entering a code into a large metal door that stood in front of them with large white letters that read “P.A.C.K Laboratories.” Boyd was staring at Derek with warm, sympathetic eyes, he had no doubt been listening to Derek’s increasing heart rate.

The doors in front of them opened and they all walked in. The lab looked like well… a lab. There were machines everywhere that Derek thought looked like either torture devices or something straight out of a sci-fi movie. A woman with long fiery red hair, beautiful hazel eyes, and a white lab coat was standing next to a counter furiously scribbling into a notepad. “Lydia,” Stiles yelled as he approached the woman.

Lydia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t stop writing. “Did you get them?”

“Get what?” Stiles asked, biting down on his lip to keep from smiling.

Lydia flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared at the boy standing in front of her. Stiles rolled his eyes, “Of course I got them Lyd’s, have I _ever_ forgotten?” Stiles pulled his backpack off of his shoulders and pulled out two bottles. “Here’s your Lush shampoo, and your Reishi tea leaves.”

Lydia’s eyes immediately softened and she threw her arms around Stiles. “I knew you’d find them.”

Derek’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Reishi leaves? An old friend of my mother used to put those in tea for us.”

Lydia looked towards Derek, finally acknowledging his existence. “That’s not surprising. They are very powerful in curing various illnesses, many pack’s often keep some for emergencies, but they are extremely rare.”

“And the _Lush shampoo_?” Boyd asked.

Lydia threw him a smile that said _do you think I look like this for free_. “Well, it’s not as if I can just walk into my favorite store and buy it.” Derek’s confused look caught Lydia’s attention. “Sorry, I’m Lydia Martin, head of P.A.C.K’s scientific division, and a Banshee,” she said, extending her hand to Derek.

Derek shook her hand, with a surprised look on his face. He had never met a banshee before, but his mother had told him old wives tales about them. _Wailing women, they are drawn towards death and have a sixth sense for those in danger of dying._ “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stiles has told us that you are the Einstein of our generation.”

Lydia smiled, “When it concerns science, yes, but when we are talking about banshee’s, not exactly… it didn’t exactly come with a user’s manual.”

Stiles gave her an encouraging smile, and put his hand on Derek’s lower back. “Alright, let’s get him tested for rabies,” he joked. Derek was acutely aware of the heat radiating from Stiles’ skin. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was far more comfortable with Stiles around, in fact, he felt _safe_ with Stiles.

-

An hour later they had finished testing Derek’s blood to wolfsbane content, did an MRI and CT scan to see if he had any physical problems or GPS trackers embedded in his skin, tested his reflexes, and now it was time for his final exam.

“Now, if you don’t mind laying down on the exam table, we need to stimulate your change, just enough to check your teeth,” Lydia explained, gently grabbing Derek’s arm and guiding him into a smaller room within the lab.

Derek dug his heels in and stopped moving immediately, “What? My teeth?”

“Dude, it’s the werewolf version of the dentist. It’s gonna be fine,” Boyd chuckled, and nodded to Derek in encouragement.

“Uh, okay, but only if Stiles comes too.”

Stiles looked at Derek, but glanced away quickly when he felt his cheeks warming up. “Yeah, of course.”

Once inside the room, Derek jumped onto the table and began to lay down. “We are going to inject you with a minuscule amount of a mutated wolfsbane that I made. It’s more like an adrenaline than a suppressant,” Lydia said. “And we need to strap in your arms just in case you cannot control the shift.”

Derek tensed up immediately and tried sitting back up, but Stiles put his hands on the wolf’s shoulders. “It’s okay Derek, I’m right here, and it wont hurt a bit.”

Derek was still fighting though, “I’m a werewolf and the wolfsbane is completely out of my system now, I’ll heal anyway, why do you have to check my teeth?” he asked, with a lump in his throat.

Lydia began slowly strapping Derek into the seat while she answered his question. “Certain slave owners have infected wolves unknowingly with a disease that I have never seen before. They normally slip it into their food so that first place we start seeing damage is in the mouth and teeth. I can obviously check your human teeth, but after that I need to check you wolf ones as well.”

Derek nodded.

“Alright, human teeth first.”

Derek tried to relax in the chair as Lydia began poking and prodding his teeth. Stiles had his hand on Derek’s arm and was slowly rubbing circles on his skin. Lydia took out a sharp metal toothpick and began tapping each tooth. Derek gasped and clenched his fists. 

“Does that hurt?” Lydia asked.

He shook his head no, but his heart began speeding up. Stiles shifted over and began running his hands through Derek’s hair, trying to sooth him. He could tell that Derek had been on edge since they stepped off of the elevator and entered the lab. He had done fine with all of the other tests, but as soon as Lydia mentioned strapping him to a chair and playing with his teeth, Derek began freaking out. _Confinement and teeth?_ Stiles thought.

Lydia began messing with Derek’s gums and he tensed up again, this time with wide eyes and sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

_Think Stiles! What had he said about his past masters? He had been experimented on my one “curious master.” SHIT!_

“Lydia, stop what you are doing and slowly back out of Derek’s mouth,” Stiles said slowly.

“Why—” Lydia began confused, but it was too late, Derek’s eyes were already glowing bright blue and the shift had begun. Lydia jumped back trying not to shout in surprise. “Derek, it’s okay, just calm down.”

Derek was struggling against the restraints, he veins popping and his fingernails growing.

“Derek, DEREK, it’s okay. It’s me, Stiles. Everything will be okay.”

But it was too late; Derek was already gone, lost in his own nightmarish flashback.

\---

Derek was lying on a table similar to the one at P.A.C.K headquarters, but with many _many_ more straps and chains. Derek couldn’t move while the wolfsbane in his system was making him weak.

The room was dark except for one bright light above the table. The room smelled of blood and metal, and all he could do was wait… _wait for the inevitable_. It wasn’t the first time that his Master had experimented on him, and he knew that it wouldn’t be the last.

An older white man with a strange accent and white hair walked into the room. “Are you ready Derek? It’s time to begin today’s _studies_.”

Derek tried to struggle against the restraints, but it was useless. “Yes, Master,” he responded.

The white haired man, walked behind the table so that he was standing behind Derek and began clamping a device around the wolf's head to keep him from moving. He then took out a recorder, set it on the table next to him and pressed it down. The white hair man began talking, “This is subject 56, I will inject his gums with both serum X and serum Y. This will force him to turn while also staying human. The result should be a constant change between his human and wolf form.”

Derek began to struggle, but he could not break the straps that were holding him down, suffocating him, as he began to panic. He barely noticed the pinches of the needles as they went into his gums. Suddenly his heart began palpitating as his body began an uncontrollable change.

“Subjects heart is beating irregularly, blood pressure is quickly rising, heart failure is possible.”

Derek’s eyes were so wide that he thought they would pop out. It didn’t take long before all he felt was a burning, unthinkable pain.

“Interesting, his body is adjusting the serum itself. Exactly half of the subjects teeth are changing, and the other half are staying human. We will begin pulling out the fangs on the wolf side to see if they grow back.”

The white haired man grabbed a pair of pliers and began yanking out one of Derek’s fangs. He screamed as loud as he could, although the man’s hands in his mouth muffled them.

“The subjects fang has grown back. Now we will pull one from the human side and see the result.”

“Stop, please, stop!” Derek cried, but the white haired man showed no mercy and no intention of stopping. He grabbed the pliers and yanked out another, this time, Derek’s entire mouth filled with blood and he choked on it when he screamed. All he could think about was the pain.

 

“It’s been thirty minutes, and the human tooth has finally grown back completely. Regeneration as a human is significantly slower than when the wolf has shifted completely. We will harvest the teeth for future research, and for further developing Virus E.” 

Derek was beginning to go unconscious when the man slapped his face, “Come on Derek, don’t black out on me now. Come on, listen to my voice.”

\---

“Derek, listen to my voice. Come on, stay with me Derek. Come back to me!” Stiles yelled, shaking Derek who was wide eyed, glistening with sweat, and completely losing it.

“Stiles… Stiles, I don’t know how to stop,” he hissed through clenched teeth. His entire body was shaking, and the restraints on the table were beginning to tear.

“Shit! These are only supposed to hold a wolf who has barely shifted. There is no way they will hold him,” Lydia shouted.

Derek was writhing on the table, fighting to keep in human form, while his wolf fought it’s way out.

Stiles was beginning to panic, “We need to get him down to the recreation level and into one of the lock up rooms.”

“That’s insane! He’s never gonna make it,” Lydia yelled. Boyd was pounding on the door to the exam room and Lydia ran to unlock it.

“What the hell is goi—” Boyd began.

“We need to move, we need to get him down to lock up,” Stiles demanded, already releasing Derek from the restraints. “Lydia, call Scott, tell him what’s happening, tell everyone to evacuate the rec floor.”

Boyd gave a curt nod and swung one of Derek’s arms over one shoulder as Stiles grabbed him by the other.

Once in the elevator, Derek began screaming. Stiles was rubbing Derek’s back with one hang and whispering in Derek’s ear, although he knew Boyd would be able to hear everything he said.

“You can do this Der, just hold on a bit longer. You can do this. Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alpha, Beta, Omega. Repeat after me, Alpha, Beta, Omega.”

Derek nodded and began mouthing the words although no sound came out.

The elevator doors opened, the recreation level was completely empty. _Well thank god everyone decided to pick today to listen,”_ Stiles thought. They rushed towards the lock out rooms, as Boyd grabbed his key card out of his pocket. They approached one of the rooms that were completely made out of metal...ceiling, floor, walls, everything. The door slide open quickly and just as they were preparing to throw Derek inside, he was triggered once again.

“ _Shit. Shit. Confinement,”_ Stiles thought, but it was too late. Boyd had already let go of the wolf, but Derek clasped onto Stiles in a moment of pure terror. The second they both crossed the threshold the doors slid closed.

Boyd began hitting the outside of the door, “Stiles! STILES!” he yelled. “I can’t open the door, one swipe in and then it won’t open until everyone in the chamber is back in human form. Stiles, I don’t know what to do!”

Stiles’ eyes were flickering back and forth between Boyd and Derek.

“Stiles you need to get _out_ of here. I can’t stop it from happening, I’m going to turn.”

Derek was doubled over and Stiles could tell there was no changing him back.

Scott showed up outside the door and began pounding against the door as well. “Stiles, you idiot. How could you get yourself locked in the goddamn _lock up room_. It’s the ONLY room in the entire building that you don’t even have access to.”

Stiles could imagine how Scott looked outside the door, red eyed with both jaws and fists clenched.

“It’s okay Scott, I got this,” Stiles yelled. “I have some mountain ash in my pack.”

“Stiles, Deaton only explained how to use it. You don’t even know if it will work. Boyd, go get Lydia, there _has_ to be a way to override the system.”

“Okay Stiles, you can figure this out, you always figure this out,” Stiles whispered, now talking to himself. He was highly aware of the wolf quickly transforming only a few feet away from him. He pulled out a glass jar filled with black dust out of his backpack, and quickly unscrewed the lid. Grabbing a handful of the ash he began sprinkling a thick line around him going in a circle.

“Is it working!?” Scott yelled from the other side.

Stiles ignored Scott, and closed his eyes, trying to envision the ash creating a Star Wars like force field around him. When he opened his eyes he could see no change in the ash sitting on the ground in front of him. Derek, however, was staring directly at him. His eyes were blue, mouth in a snarl showing his fangs, and his ears were pointed. “ _He’s going to kill me,”_ Stiles thought with a sinking feeling.

Just then the wolf dove towards the mountain ash, only to be rocketed backwards by a type of force field.

“Yes!” Stiles screamed, “It’s working Scott, he can’t get through.”

Stiles watched Derek who was now working off of pure wolf instinct. He knew that Derek couldn’t stop himself, but that didn’t stop Stiles from talking to him. The wolf was pacing around the mountain ash trying to get in, failing, and then flinging his full weight at the nearest wall.

“It’s okay Derek, just let it all out. You’ll feel better once this is over, I promise.” Stiles had never seen a wolf in the lock up room and he couldn’t help but find something both completely terrifying and beautiful about seeing one of the wolves act on pure natural instinct.

\--

An hour had passed since Derek had gone full wolf, but he showed no signs of slowing down. He ran head first into the mountain ash barrier for the hundredth time, only this time he didn’t get bounced back. The barrier protecting Stiles began turning a bright yellow color as the wolf forced his body towards the middle. Stiles eyes grew and he pushed himself against the back of the circle. Derek was growling at Stiles and still forcing his way inside when his eyes began turning a bright fierce red. Stiles found himself stepping forward and reaching out towards the wolf, but before he took another step, Derek was thrown backwards into the wall with such force that it knocked the wolf uncounsious.

Stiles, still in shock, knelt down and sat crossed legged in the middle of the ash circle. He put his hand over his mouth to cover his heavy breathing in fear of waking the wolf. _“He almost broke through the mountain ash_ ,” Stiles pondered. He had only seen one other wolf do that.. his best friend.. specially, the day he turned into an alpha. Scott had completely broken through a circle of mountain ash to get to a dark druid, and it had changed Scott into a true alpha, his most defining moment as a wolf. 

Stiles sat like a statue for another thirty minutes before Derek began to move again. Stiles could see Derek turning back into his human form as his claw began to retract, and his ears started shrinking back to normal size.

“Stiles?” Derek groaned from across the room.

Stiles rolled onto his knees, quickly broke the line of mountain ash, and scrambled over to Derek.

“Hey, you’re okay,” he whispered to Derek as he crawled behind him and wrapped his arms around the wolfs waist. “You’re okay.”

“But are you?” Derek asked, still shaking.

“You kidding? I’m great, better than ever.”

Derek managed a laugh, followed by another groan.

“Yeah, you’re gonna be in a bit of pain from being thrown around the room. We’ll want Lydia to check your ribs up in the lab.”

Derek grabbed Stiles' hands and scooted closer into him.

“Don’t worry, no constraints this time. Actually, why don’t we just have her examine you in your room? You know, just to be safe.”

“Sounds good.”

Derek was covered in sweat, and he was breathing heavily when the door finally opened. Scott, Lydia, Isaac, and Boyd were all standing there watching Stiles and Derek, each with the same expression, _surprise_.

“Hey guys, mind getting him some water and a change of clothes,” Stiles requested, still hugging the wolf. This was going to take some explaining.

\--

Once Derek had been checked out by Lydia, Derek apologized to her and explained his flashback to everyone.

“It’s fine, honestly. Every single one of us has had something terrible happen at some point in our life. We would all be lying if we said it didn’t come back to haunt us at one point or another,” Scott said, giving Derek a warm smile. “Just get some rest.”

Everyone began shuffling out of Derek’s room when Lydia turned around and saw Stiles hovering over Derek’s bed. She just smiled at Stiles and closed the door behind her. 

“You don’t need to hang around here if you’ve got other things you need to do,” Derek told him.

Stiles shrugged looking down at his hands, “I was planning to go and see Roscoe, but that can wait.”

Derek’s eyes lit up, and it took everything in him not to clench his fists. “ _Since when have I become protective over a human, let alone a human that I've known for less than a week,”_ Derek thought.

“No it’s fine, go hang out with Roscoe, I’m sure he hasn’t seen you in weeks,” Derek grumbled trying to force a smile. “I’d love to meet this guy sometime.”

Stiles was having trouble not laughing, which was obviously frustrating Derek.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing. Uh, are you up to a short walk? We can go as slow as you want, but I think you should probably meet someone.”

Derek rolled his eyes, “Look, just go and hang out with this dude, I can meet this Roscoe some other time.”

Stiles shook his head, “Oh shut up, let’s go.”

Derek stood up from the bed and gasped a little when he tried to straighten up. The bruises on his body were already starting to heal, but the ribs would take a few days. Stiles carefully looped his arm around Derek’s waist to support him.

When they got to the elevators, Stiles pressed the top floor for the garage.

“You aren’t going to kidnap me are you,” Derek joked, unfortunately the laughing hurt his tender ribs.

Stiles scooted closer to Derek to support him a bit more, but the truth was that he just wanted to be as close to the wolf as possible. If Derek were being completely honest, he didn’t need as much support as Stiles was lending, but he enjoyed being this close to the human.

When they made it took the garage, Stiles grabbed a set of keys from the sidewall and started walking towards the herd of cars.

“Dude, I was joking about the kidnapping thing.”

Stiles laughed, “Come on, we're almost there.”

Stiles slowed down as he approached a large blue jeep with a black hood, and turned towards the wolf. “Derek, meet Roscoe. Roscoe, meet Derek. He’s a wolf just like Scott and I think that you’ll like him. I know I do,” Stiles beamed, hiding his face a little from Derek to keep from blushing.

When Stiles looked up at Derek he could see that the wolf was the one turning a brilliant shade of scarlet.

“It appears that I have made a terrible mistake,” Derek muttered.

“You totally thought that Roscoe was my boyfriend,” Stiles teased.

“Nope, I definitely did not. Just thought he was a guy, that you maybe liked and possibly dated… and yeah, I absolutely thought that he was your boyfriend," he admitted in defeat.

Stiles awkwardly climbed into the jeep. Derek could not get over what a spectacle it was watching Stiles try to fit his long gazelle legs into the car. 

“Come on, get in,” Stiles yelled to Derek.

It took a few tries, and a lot of grunting and moaning, but soon Derek was able to get into the jeep. “I’m going to need to sit here for a bit, that took a lot out of me.”

“No problem,” Stiles replied, suddenly nervous. “Actually, I have something I need to tell you. I promised Scott that I would do it soon, I was actually supposed to tell you on the road, but then you wolfed out and I was afraid that it would make you wolf out even more, so I wanted to wait until you could—”

Derek held up an exasperated hand. “Mind if you let me know tomorrow?” Derek said, his eyes getting a little droopy, the medicine that Lydia prescribed starting to kick in. He scooted down in the seat, resting his head against the window, already starting to drift off.

Stiles let out an sigh, lended over Derek, and adjusted the seat back as far as it would go so that the wolf was practically laying down.

“Sure, of course. No problem,” he said biting his lip. 

It took no time for Derek to completely pass out. Stiles just sat there staring at him, _“Just wanted to let you know that you aren’t the first Hale that I’ve met… Cora says hi.”_

 

 

_Note:_

_Chapter 4 will be out hopefully two weeks from today if everything goes as planned. I am going to California to visit family for the week, and actually have an early flight this morning (in about 7 hours), but I wanted to get chapter 3 out to you guys._

_I loved having all of the feedback on the last two chapters, definitely keep it coming!_

As always, thanks so much for reading! 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU in which werewolves and other supernatural creatures are an enslaved race. Stiles buys Derek from a slave family, but they both have very different ideas about Stiles intentions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 4)
> 
> Inspired by this post: sterek-stories.tumblr.com/post/91851660038/teen-wolf-au-in-a-world-in-which-werewolves-are
> 
> Trigger warning: implied abuse

Stiles some how managed to get a very sleepy Derek back to his room with the help of Boyd. After ensuring the the wolf was fast asleep, his eyelids rapidly fluttering, Stiles began to feel the long day weighing on him. He barely made it back to his own room before falling asleep in the comfort of his bed. His last thought before drifting unconscious was, "I need to tell Derek about Cora" followed by "he's going to hate me."

\---

18 hours. Derek had slept for 18 full hours. He didn't know if it was Lydia's drugs or the fact that he was exhausted after changing, but he was thankful to finally feel rested for the first time in years.

Derek was still dressed in his clothes from yesterday, but he could feel the need to take a shower and explore the compound. As he stood up, he realized how stiff his body had become... _I guess that happens when you go into a mini coma._

Barefoot, Derek walked into the hallway, amazed by how good his ribs felt after yesterday. Besides some light bruising, and a stiff back, he felt pretty amazing.

After 15 minutes of searching the hallway, he finally found the showers. There were towels stacked on shelves to the right and ten showers against the back wall. Six of the stalls were occupied, while another man stood at the sink shaving. Derek nodded to the man at the counter, stepped into a stall to undress, and hung his clothes on a hook outside the curtain. The shower felt amazing and warm... Derek wasn't sure he'd ever get used to warm showers again.. They were still such a gift.

After changing he decided that he definitely felt hungry, but could not remember how to get to the cafeteria. Luckily Boyd was in his room reading a book when Derek walked in. 

"So, this place is large and confusing,” Derek said, grinning. “Please show me where I can get some food asap.”

Boyd laughed and threw the book at Derek. "Well that's what happens when you sleep for nearly an entire day."

When they finally made it to the dining hall, it was only half full.

"What time is it anyway?"

"4pm. After we eat want to head down to the rec center?”

"No!,” he blurted out abruptly. “No, I just need a few days before I go down there again. I almost killed him, Boyd. I... I've always thought that I hated humans.. But Stiles, he's an entire other creature in and of himself.” 

Boyd laughed, “Yeah, well, he sure does seem to do well with you Hales.”

 _Hales?_ Derek could swear that he felt his own heart stop and restart with twice the horsepower. His vibrant blue eyes grew wide and his breathing picked up it's pace.

"Where is he?" Derek yelled at Boyd, his cheeks turning a deep red.

"I--, shit. Stiles didn’t tell you? Look Der--"

"Just tell me...please,” he yelled. “This could be either really bad or the best day of my life, but either way I'm not letting anything get in my way. Now. Where. Is. Stiles?”  

At this point everyone in the hallway had stopped what they were doing to turn towards the two wolves arguing in the hallway.

Boyd stood quietly for a second weighing his all too limited options. Either 1) he tells Derek where Stiles is, or 2) he tells Derek where Stiles definitely isn't, which could buy him some time to find the human.

Boyd looked up at Derek’s pleading eyes, he didn’t expect to see tears in the man’s eyes. Derek was blinking quickly to try to keep the tears from spilling over, his hands were clasped into fists at his sides, and he was obviously struggling to keep his composure. All the wolf wanted to do was to throw Boyd into a wall repeatedly until he told him where Stiles was –and preferably how to get there.

The two wolves were locking eyes as a crowd began to form around them.

“Come on, punch the newbie,” shouted a tall guy with an athletic build and short sandy blonde hair.

Boyd finally looked away, rubbing his hand over his face before training his big brown eyes on the boy who spoke.

“Jesus. Whittemore, I’m not gonna deck the guy,” Boyd huffed, exasperated.

Boyd returned his tired gaze towards Derek whose solemn eyes were betraying his defensive stance.

“Alright, around this time he is in the lab with Lydia going over her research,” Boyd explained, defeated. “I can show you wher—”

Before Boyd had finished talking, Derek was already pushing his way through the crowd of people. He didn’t slow his run until he hit the elevators, realizing that he had no idea where the stairs were and was determined to make it to the lab without getting lost. Once inside the elevator Derek pressed his forehead to the cold hard metal, trying to collect his thoughts.

He was standing in front of the giant metal door when he realized that he didn’t have the code to get inside. His heart was pounding, the last time he entered the lab, he nearly killed Lydia and Stiles, but he couldn’t wait any longer as he bit down on his lip, and punched the intercom on the wall. Lydia answered.

“P.A.C.K laboratories,” said the familiar, gentle voice on the other end.

“Uh, it’s Derek. Is Stiles in there? Can I come inside?”

Silence. He could almost sense Lydia’s nervousness through the thick steel door. He couldn’t blame her really, all it would have taken was a slight nip at either her or Stiles and their lives would be changed forever.

A few second later, the door buzzed, and swung open. Derek didn’t hesitate for a second, he walked through the threshold and immediately followed the sound of two bickering voices. Stiles was leaning against a table with his back to Derek when he entered the room. Lydia’s eyes were scrutinizing Stiles when she looked up and saw Derek, waving her hand at Stiles as if to tell him “we’ll talk about it later.”

Before Stiles could completely turn around to face Derek, he was being lifted off the ground and shoved into the nearest wall by the wolf.

“What did Boyd mean when he said that you were good with Hales?” he screamed in the boys face. “Who did you--? How did you--?,” his eyes lowered to the ground, briefly losing their anger before returning to Stiles’ quickly paling face.

Lydia was shouting something at Derek, but it had become white noise as he listened to the sound of Stiles’ heart.

“It’s okay Lyd’s, he was gonna find out sooner or later, I just hoped that I’d been able to tell him before he figured it out.” Lydia fell silent, but didn’t move away from a glass box on the wall marked “TASER” in large letters.

Derek loosened his grip on Stiles, but stayed only inches away from his face. “What do you know about my family?” he demanded, his eyes frantically searching Stiles’ face for an answer.

“Only what I learned from your sister.”

Derek’s eyes widened and he had to fight the urge not to whine. If one of his sister’s were at The Compound, they would have pushed to see him the second he stepped foot inside. “Which one?”

“Cora.”

“Where--what happened to her?” Derek asked, straining his ears to hear any impurities in Stiles’ heartbeat which would indicate that the human was lying.

“She had escaped and was starting up a rebellion with a handful of werewolves. We heard about it, and decided to contact her to see if she would be interested in P.A.C.K. She was skeptical at first, but she quickly became a member of the team. She worked with Boyd and Isaac in order to find other rebellions,” he released a deep sigh before continuing. “When we asked Cora to join, her only condition was that we find as many of her family members as we could. When we found you she was ecstatic, told us everything we needed to know.”

“A week before we set out to find you, we found a lead on who might be creating the virus that is infecting so many wolves. We set out a team to investigate, they were only supposed to gather intel, but something went wrong, and Cora…” Stiles fell silent, closing his eyes.

Derek’s arms feel to his side, and he felt like his world was folding in on itself. Stiles placed a hand on Derek’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “We don’t know what happened, we don’t know if she is alive or not, but I kept my promise to rescue you,” he whispered, removing his hand from the wolf’s shoulder and placing it on the side of his neck. “And Derek, I promise you, I promise on my life that we will find her.”

Derek backed away, feeling the warm sensation of Stiles’ hand disappear from his neck. “And Laura,” he asked.

“We haven’t been able to locate her.”

Derek doesn’t do anything, but stare at Stiles for a few minutes as he tries to process all of the information. Stiles is completely unsure what to do. Part of him wants to hug the wolf, but Lydia is staring at them, and he’s not sure if that’s was on the list of “okay things to do after telling a werewolf that you managed to lose his only known living relative.”

Stiles stepped forward looking briefly at Lydia whose face was cataloging every move the two men made… she wasn’t going to leave Stiles alone until he told her what was going on between him and the wolf. The truth was that Stiles had no idea what _was_ going on between the two of them. He had never had a wolf trust him so quickly, except for Scott of course, but they had been best friends well before he turned into a wolf.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the second we found you,” Stiles said softly, his body close enough to Derek to feel the heat emanating off of him. “We didn’t know how you would react or if you would refuse to come to The Compound if we told you that we didn’t know what happened to Cora… losing a wolf when you work for an organization meant to save them doesn’t sound very convincing.”

Derek took a deep breath and Stiles could see the corner of his mouth pick up a bit into a half-hearted smile. “It’s okay,” he huffed, attempting to reassure Stiles. “You made the right call. At least I know that as of a week ago Cora was alive…. I can live with that for now.”

Derek lowered his eyes towards the ground and scratched the back of his head. “I need to clear my head a bit though. Gonna take a walk. I’ll see you both later,” he muttered, before nodding towards Lydia and heading for the door. “And I’m sorry for scaring you yesterday. I wasn’t even close to control and I should have told you how nervous all the poking and prodding made me.”

Lydia gave Derek a warm small, “No need to apologize, but thank you. I should never assume what a wolf has been through.” With that Derek gave a curt nod and headed out the door, entered the elevator, and leaned his back against the uncomfortable metal bar before collapsing to the ground. _Cora’s alive_ , he thought. _Cora you have to be alive._

\--

Derek was officially lost. He had gotten off the elevator at a random floor and began mindlessly walking around in an attempt to clear his mind. For a wolf, Derek had a terrible sense of direction, and now he was pretty sure that he was going in circles. Eventually he stopped to ask for directions from a girl with long blonde hair who smelt like a wolf. She gave him a once over, pointed him in the direction of the elevators and sauntered off, flipping her hair over her shoulder. As he walked towards the elevators he slowly realized precisely which floor he was on, the recreation level.

His heart skipped a beat as he rounded a corner and saw rows of small locked rooms lined up in front of him. Quickly, Derek searched for the one that he was in. _Was that really only yesterday that he changed?_ It didn’t take long to find the room that had quickly become a death trap for Stiles. The door was closed, but yellow tape was strung across the door and a large sign had the words “Under Repair” written on it.

He nudged the door open, it’s locking mechanism not engaged, and ducked under the tape. Scratch marks covered the metal walls, and Derek could only imagine how terrible that must have sounded to Stiles’ human ears. Mountain ash was still in a broken circle on the opposite side of the room, pushed into a corner. The wolf inhaled deeply. The room smelled like fear, although he couldn’t tell if it was his own, or Stiles’... probably both. There was another smell in the room, one that took Derek a second to pinpoint… sadness and chaos… both his own.

Derek sat down in the middle of the floor, crossing his legs, and closing his eyes, trying to remember what happened after he changed. Normally Derek could remember every second of a change, but after going so long without wolfing out, well, it took over his mind… the wolf won out. Focusing on his breathing, and straining his mind, he could only remember bits and pieces, more feelings than anything… and Stiles.. reaching out towards the wolf as he flung himself into the mountain ash one last time. _But why? What made the terrified human react that way?_

He could feel himself getting a headache and decided to stop pushing the memories of the change. Instead, it was time to find Stiles.

-

After asking multiple people, some human, some wolfs, others who smelled completely unfamiliar, he found his way to Stiles’ room. When he knocked on the door, the tall boy with short brown hair and more freckles than he could possibly count, answered the door. The boy’s eyes lit up and Derek could see him attempting to contain a smile.

“Hey,” Stiles said, nibbling on the inside of his cheek, “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to speak to me again… or if you had gotten lost in the depths of The Compound.”

Derek smiled. “Just needed to clear my mind a bit. Mind if I come in?”

Stiles nodded quickly and stepped aside. “Mi casa, es su casa,” he sung, immediately regretting the split second of awkward silence that followed. “Uh, I mean, come on in.”

The wolf walked over the threshold and immediately noticed the stark difference between his own room and the one standing before him. The walls were blue, and covered in posters ranging from various bands, to the movie posters for episode I-III of Star Wars. In the corner was a desk that had stacks of papers with pages of notes scribbled hectically across every page. On the wall at the foot of the bed sat two tall bookcases, each overflowing with books, the majority of which involved some kind of supernatural mythology. Hanging above the bookcases were two deep shelves, each with an assortment of weapons. Derek couldn’t help but smile as his eyes scanned over the room that was so very much Stiles. _Genius-badass-nerd._

“So this is home,” Derek asked, scanning through the book titles. Stiles nodded as he stepped closer to Derek, who was aware of the fidgeting boy at his side.

“Yeah well I’ve been here since we started the organization so I’ve had some time to make it my own. You can do that too by the way… hang up photos, drawings, posters, anything. Make it yours.. if you are planning to stay that is.”

Derek nodded, and fell silent. _It’s not as if I have anywhere else to go._ “So, I think I finally have the layout of the compound down,” he smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Really?!? Took me a month.”

Derek snorted, “No, I just got lost for two hours. I had planned to clear my head briefly, but before I knew it, I felt like I was in a maze.”

The boy laughed, and reached to grab a book his overflowing bookshelf. “I know that it is fairly new to you, but there are tons of supernaturals out there that we had never heard of. I read as much as I can, I have documents of every single person in this compound, and  I’ve catalogued every supernatural that we have ever met or heard rumors about. We want to know what we are dealing with, so we can better help them. You are welcome to come here and read my notes anytime. And uh, go ahead and borrow any of my books, just make sure they find their way back at some point,” Stiles explained while playing with the hem of his t-shirt.

The wolf smiled and took a step towards the shelf, scanning the titles. He grabbed “The Limited Edition Manifesto of Supernatural and Otherwise,” from the shelf. “I’ll start with this one,” he reported, and sat down on a soft, gray chair in the corner of the room. His back was stiff, aware that Stiles was watching him, as he flipped to the first page.

“Are you just going to read here?”

“Yup. Unless that’s a problem?” he asked, looking up at Stiles’ big brown eyes.

Scratching the back of his neck, Stiles stumbled over his words, “yeah, I mean no, I mean of course you can stay and read. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Derek smirked and returned his focus to the first section of the book.

-

It was 9pm and Derek was still huddled in Stiles’ chair pouring over the book. He had kicked off his shoes and was now sitting more comfortably in the large chair.

Stiles was laying on his bed attempting to go over some notes that he had taken earlier, but he was distracted by the beautiful wolf sitting only a few feet from him. Stiles was pretending to highlight a section of his notes when Derek made another surprised noise causing the boy to glance up at the wolf. Derek had been making little “ahs”, “huhs,” and “ohs” as he flew through the pages of reading… it was nice for Stiles to see someone just as interested in supernaturals as he himself was.

The boy was about to return to his notes when Derek gave a much needed stretch, the bones in his body all cracking, and closed the book.

“Where did you end?” Stiles asked, setting aside his notes that he had made absolutely no progress on. All Stiles could do was hope that Derek was too focused on the book to notice how little Stiles was doing… or rather.. how much staring he was doing.

“Amazons,” Derek said, his hair now slightly disheveled from hours of reading and running his hands through his short locks, “an entirely female tribe of warrior women with superhuman strength and speed. I had no idea that they were still around.”

Stiles nodded, “We don’t have any in P.A.C.K, which is understandable. They can blend in pretty easily so they are rarely captured.” An awkward silence followed, something that never failed to make Stiles fidgety.

“Can you talk to me about Cora?” Derek asked, his eyes suddenly serious.

Stiles began chewing on his lip, nervous under the wolf’s gaze. “What do you want to know?”

Derek stood up and moved to sit on the end of Stiles’ bed, his feet planted firmly on the floor, and his hands clasped in his lap. “How long was she here for?”

“About 8 months. She was spectacle at first, but then she just wanted to find ways to help out. I think she was worried that we wouldn’t hold up our end of the bargain to find you and Laura, but soon she started to thoroughly enjoy training the newbies.”

“Did she have a room?”

“Of course! It’s, uh, still here. I made sure that no one touched it,” Stiles said, scooting down to sit next to Derek at the foot of the bed. “Plus, when we find her, she’ll want her room back.”

“Can we go there tomorrow?”

Stiles placed his hand over Derek’s briefly, but then quickly pulled it away. “Of course, uh, I actually have something for you.” Stiles stood up and opened the bottom shelf in his desk. When he turned back around, he was holding a small photo in his hand. “We took this a few weeks both she disappeared. I think she’d like you to have it right now.”

It was a black and white polaroid of Cora and Stiles, he had his arm draped around her neck, and her arm was tightly wound around his waist. Cora was smiling and had on a blue shirt with the words “P.A.C.K leader” printed on it. “This was right after her first official day introducing the new wolves to the compound. She was teaching them control.”

Derek couldn’t help but smile at his sister and Stiles draped around each other. He knew immediately that Cora had not only been in safe hands, but that she had actually been _happy_ here...it gave him hope that he could one day be happy again as well--or at the very least content.

“You could always crop me out of the photo, or just fold it in half,” Stiles mumbled, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

“No, uh, I like it, it’s a good photo of you both. Thank you.” Derek ran his finger over Cora’s face, and took a deep breath. “I know shes alive too, I can just feel it.”

Derek scooted closer to Stiles, their shoulders now directly touching, and looked at the human boys face. His face appeared to have even more freckles in the lighting of the room, and his lips were red and swollen from nervous chewing. The boy had an angular, but innocent face with a jawline that could kill. His unbelievably long eyelashes accentuated the boys brown eyes, which Derek was now staring directly into. _He’s beautiful,_ Derek thought.  

“I know that it’s not your fault Stiles,” the wolf whispered reassuringly. “No one could control Cora, even when we were kids. Knowing Cora, she saw an opportunity during the mission and she took it without thinking. We’ll find her.”

Stiles stared at Derek with an incredulous expression. _How could this big dumb beautiful idiot be comforting me right now? I lost his sister, I sent her into a mission with the wrong information… and he is still trying to make me feel better about myself?!_ “When was the last time you took care of yourself?”

Derek’s eyebrows rose and then began to furrow. “What do you mean?”

“You shouldn’t be making me feel okay about this. I should be begging for forgiveness, or … or you should punch me or something… preferably not with your full superwolf strength.”

“What do you want me to do? Yell at you?” Derek shouted, throwing his hands in the air and moving to the very edge of the bed.

“Yes! Please god yes!”

“How can I Stiles? I wasn’t even here,” he grimaced. “I wasn’t hear to protect her, I didn’t even know that this place existed until a few days ago. I wasn’t here to protect my little sister. I’m her big brother, and it’s my job, and I failed. So you… you don’t get to take responsibility for this!” Derek placed his head in his hands and rested his elbows against his knees while Stiles fell completely silent next to him.

Five minutes passed before either of them moved a muscle.

Stiles spoke first, “You were being held in captivity by lunatics and sold repeatedly to the highest bidder. You have undergone severe physical and psychological trauma.” Stiles gently grabbed Derek by the chin and turned his head so that it was now facing Stiles. “And Derek, no one on this Earth can blame you for anything that happened to Cora… or any of your family members. Okay?”

Derek closed his eyes, “Okay.”

\--

After Stiles and Derek’s little argument, they just sat silently on the bed for a bit until they both felt that they could move onto another topic. He began asking Stiles about the compound and took in as much information as he could before he felt his brain turning to mush, then said goodnight to the boy, and walked back to his dorm.

It was nearly midnight when Derek found his way back to his dorm room. He nearly stopped to apologize to Boyd, but then decided to leave him be until tomorrow.

Once inside, he turned on the lamp next to his bed, filling the room with dim yellow light. He had slept for over 18 hours, but miraculously he felt exhausted, and just wanted to crawl into bed.

After pulling off his shirt, he reached into his jean pockets and pulled out a folded up white rectangle. Derek walked over to his desk, pulled out the top drawer, and grabbed a thumbtack. He smiled at the now unfolded photo, and drove a thumbtack through it, and into the wall. _Make it yours_ , he thought, replaying what Stiles had said earlier.

With a grin still on his face, he turned around, flipped off the light and climbed into bed. He only had to wait a few minutes for his night vision to kick in and quickly found the photo hanging in the middle of his wall. His eyes beginning to droop, all he could see was the blur of his sister, with her arms tightly wound around the freckle faced human. _It will be nice when we are all together,_ he thought wearily before falling asleep.  

 

Hope you liked it! Let me know what you all think! Can't wait to post the next chapter! 


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